Pretty Things
by ultraclutch
Summary: The two biggest stars of The Corny Collins Show embark on a forbidden romance. Corny/Amber.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:**I own nothing! I don't own Hairspray, the characters, anything!

**A/N:** First chapter and first fic! Pretty boring, but it will get better! Read and review please XD

**Pretty Things**

_"Be a star and fall down somewhere next to me  
And make it past your color TV"_

Corny Collins sighed as the studio buzzer went off, signalling the end of another long day of filming. He stood still for a while, silently smiling at the council kids as they scattered off in every direction, getting ready to head home for the night. He glanced around the studio and began to walk to his dressing room, but he was stopped in his tracks as his eyes caught the delicate silhouette of Amber Von Tussle heading out of the doorway. He ran a hand through his hair then shook his head, trying to shove the thoughts to the back of his mind. She was the daughter of Velma, the stations manager, and the lead dancer on the Corny Collins show. Almost all of the other kids were better dancers than her but what Velma says, goes. Amber's incompetence as a dancer, and unpopularity amongst the other girls usually led to her messing up steps or falling over, and it was always up to Corny to help her back up, although he never got so much as a 'thank you'.

He didn't mind though, he knew it was hard for her, constantly having to live up to her mothers expectations, and he felt somewhat sorry for her, although he'd never admit it. He'd always had a soft spot for her, for a start, she was stunningly beautiful, by far the best looking girl on the show. She always made an effort to look nice, and she was definitely flirtatious. Whenever possible, she'd brush past him, put a hand on his shoulder, bend over seductively in front of him. Corny couldn't work out whether it was because she genuinely wanted to, or because her mother had taught her to use her looks to get what she wanted. Whatever the reason, her efforts to constantly be the center of attention amongst the rest of the council worked most of the time, and she was certainly the center of _his_ attention.

He walked up to his dressing room, entered, and quietly shut the door behind him. He took off his suit jacket and loosened his tie, and leant back against the door. He closed his eyes, taking in the silence of the studio, a rare occurrence. His mind wandered back to Amber, and how she'd taken a tumble in the last dance of today's show. She fell straight into his arms, and looked up at him with her icy blue eyes, helplessly. Her blonde hair looked immaculate as always, in a sophisticated up-do with a few golden tendrils seductively falling around her snow white skin, her peach dress clinging to all the right places…

There was a loud knock on the door, and Corny jumped, and swore, startled, as his thoughts were interrupted. He cleared his throat and opened the door, and was surprised to see Amber stood there. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything she barged past him and into his dressing room. Corny shut the door, and Amber turned on her heels to face him, hands on her hips.

"Corny, you're going to have to give me a ride home, my mother got picked up by some guy and told me to make my own way home, but it's raining and –"

"What, your mother has just left you and gone on a date?" Corny interrupted.

"Well, yeah, and I'm not walking home because it's raining -"

"Yeah, you said. Look, Amber, can you not get a lift off Link or one of the girls?" Corny sighed, saying the words through gritted teeth. In actual fact, all he could think about doing recently was spending time alone with her, away from the show, but one, she had just turned 17, making her notably younger than him, and two, he didn't really like going out of his way to spend time with the council kids outside of the studio, especially since the incident between him and Brenda. It wasn't so much that it bothered _him_, but he knew people were talking already, and he didn't fancy losing his job.

"They already left… you know what? Forget it." Amber growled as she began to stomp out of the room.

Corny closed his eyes, "Amber, wait. Sit down. I'm not going to let you walk, just give me 10 minutes."

Amber turned around, and walked to the chair in the corner of the room. She perched herself on the edge, watching Corny as he pottered around his dressing room. She narrowed her eyes as she studied his face, something she never normally got the chance to do. She ran her eyes over his, a much deeper blue than hers, his perfectly formed lips, his chiselled jaw line, sexily accentuated with the slightest hint of stubble, his eyebrows furrowing as he struggled to undo the knot on his tie. He looked a lot different than what he did on the show, when he wasn't acting for the camera, playing the perfect host with the million dollar smile. He looked more … real, she thought, and_incredibly_ handsome. She smirked to herself and stood up.

"Need any help with that?" she asked, softly. Corny began to protest but she moved closer to him and put her hands over his, her delicately manicured fingers working over the knot, undoing it almost effortlessly. Corny shivered as her skin brushed his, closing his eyes as he felt the heat of her hands on his neck. They stood there for what seemed like an eternity, until Corny opened his eyes, his hands now down at his sides, still covered by Ambers.

"Thanks," he said, so quiet that it was almost a whisper. She smiled at him, and walked back to the chair where she was previously sat. Corny got the rest of his things together, his head still spinning. He cleared his throat, and motioned to Amber that he was ready to go. They walked to his car, making general chit chat, both obviously trying to think of anything to talk about to divert their attention from each other and the relatively intimate moment they shared no more than 10 minutes ago. They both got into Corny's car, and began the drive to Amber's house. It didn't take as long as they'd secretly hoped, and they exchanged their goodbyes. Amber walked up to her front door, turning to wave at Corny. He smiled back, and sat and waited to make sure she got in okay, like all good gentlemen do. Amber knocked at the door, no answer, although that was to be expected, she had no idea what time her mother would be back. She turned to Corny and shrugged, then reached into her purse for her key. She rooted around for a good while, but it was nowhere to be found. Corny opened his door and stepped onto the pavement, puzzled.

"Everything okay, Amber?" he shouted.

"No, I've lost my key! I must have left it at the studio" she groaned, slamming her purse shut angrily.

Corny sighed, it was getting dark, and he couldn't just leave her sitting on the doorstep all night. He knew what Velma was like, Amber was always the last of her thoughts, as long as she was out having a good time, no-one or nothing else mattered.

He opened the passenger door to his car, checking to see if the key had fallen out of her purse during the drive. It hadn't, and he swore to himself as he made his way up the path.

His mind went into overdrive, thinking of people he could call, somewhere he could take her. Of course, there was only one place he _wanted_ her to end up, but it was completely unprofessional, and irresponsible of him. He wasn't even sure how she'd react, he wasn't laying all his hopes on the one incident that had happened earlier.

As he reached the front step, he looked into her sky blue eyes. The wind blew across her bare arms, causing her to shiver, and instinctively, he put both of his arms around her. He regretted it instantly as he expected her to freak out, but she relaxed into his chest, warming herself with his body heat. Immediately, his heart overruled his head, and he eventually made his decision about what he was going to do with Amber Von Tussle.

"Amber... it looks like you're going to have to come back to my place"

He grimaced as he awaited her reaction, but she grinned into his torso, and began to walk back down the path towards Corny's car. He followed her, a whir of excitement in the pit of his stomach.


	2. Chapter 2

After a short drive across town, Corny and Amber pulled up outside Cornys house. They got out of the car and he led her inside.

"Do you want a drink of anything, or some food?" he asked, nervously. He was unsure of how to act around her, he felt slightly awkward after the embrace they'd shared earlier, and Amber could be unpredictable. He wasn't entirely sure how she felt about the situation, never mind himself.

"Um, I'll just have a glass of water if that's okay?" Amber replied. She was pretty hungry as well, but she didn't want him making a fuss. She didn't know how long she'd be here, and she wanted to enjoy spending time with him, rather than her being her usual bratty self.

Corny returned from the kitchen with a glass of water for her, and a glass of some sort of fruit juice for him. They sat on the couch for a while, it was awkward at first but the conversation soon flowed, they found themselves talking about the show, who they liked, who they hated. An hour or so went by, unnoticed by them, when suddenly the phone rang. Corny picked up the receiver.

"Hello?" he said.

"Corny, is Amber there?" It was Velma. "I've been ringing round looking for her for ages, I rang Link, and he said you were one of the last people left at the station." Amber could hear her mothers piercing voice coming through the receiver.

"Yeah, she is. Where the hell are you Velma? I drove Amber home but you weren't in and she had no key, so I had no choice but to bring her back here"

"She's lost her key? Oh, that's just great, seriously. Corny, she's going to have to stay at your house until tomorrow because I won't be coming home" Velma sneered.

"What? Velma, no –"

"So what, you'd rather see her out on the street? Drop her off at school in the morning, I'll pick her up from the station after the show."

Corny sighed, and slammed down the receiver. Amber jumped, she'd never really seen him angry before.

"Is everything okay? I-I could try and get hold of Link, stay at his instead… although my mother would kill me if she found out" Amber said, hoping he would disagree.

"No, if your mother found out, she'd kill me, too. You'll have to stay here, I've got a spare room, unfortunately though I don't have any female clothes" he chuckled.

"I have spare clothes in my locker at school, I'll go in earlier and change there… if you don't mind driving me earlier?"

"Of course I don't" Corny said with a smile. It was the first time he'd seemed entirely at ease since they'd been at his house, and Amber returned the smile, making his heart flutter a little.

"I, err, I'm just gonna go change, I won't be long. Make yourself at home… not that there's really anything that interests you I presume" he laughed. "I'll make us some dinner in a while" he said, before heading upstairs.

Amber waited until he'd reached the top of the stairs before she stood up. She walked around his living room, looking at the various framed pictures scattered around the room. There was one of Corny as a young boy, sat on his mother's knee. He had slightly blonder hair, but anyone who knew him would be able to tell it was him instantly, who could mistake that smile? Amber smiled as she touched the edge of the frame. Corny was pretty secretive about his private life, and she felt somewhat voyeuristic looking at his pictures, although they were out in the open for anyone to look at. She turned, and her eyes caught a golden frame across the other side of the room. She walked over to it, and saw it was a picture of Corny and the show's council, Mr Spritzer, and Velma. He loved his job, and he loved the kids, and Amber felt a hint of guilt, due to her mothers behaviour towards Corny. She never allowed him to have any say in the show, and dismissed his thoughts and opinions constantly. He didn't care though, the show was his life, he lived and breathed WYZT.

She studied the photo, and saw that she was stood at the front in the middle, taking center stage with Corny. Her hand was on his shoulder, and his arm was round her waist. She smiled, she was physically close with him most of the time on the show, without even noticing it, yet in the privacy of his own home she was scared in case she sat too close to him on the sofa. She was the same person as she was on the show, why was she feeling so nervous around him all of a sudden? She took a deep breath and placed the photo back. As she did so, Corny reappeared at the entrance to the living room. He was dressed in a pair of grey lounge trousers, and a plain white cotton top. He looked incredibly attractive, and she all of a sudden felt overdressed.

"The amount of times I've contemplated cutting your mother off of that picture" he laughed, sitting on the sofa and running his hand through his hair. Amber giggled nervously, and sat next to him, a bit closer than she had before.

"Other times, I look at that photograph and realise how blessed I am", he continued, turning to look at Amber. "I wake up in the morning sometimes and would give anything to be able to turn back over and go to sleep, but I come in here and look at that picture, and realise how lucky I am. There are millions of guys who would kill to be in my position, doing what they love as a job". He stood up, and opened the door to the kitchen. His muscles flexed noticeably under his thin white t-shirt, and Amber felt weak. She'd imagined on more than one occasion what he'd look like underneath his sharp suits and immaculate hairdo, and now she knew. Well, almost.

Corny was used to eating on the go, he was always dashing between his house and the studio, and didn't really have any cooking skills. Miraculously, however. he managed to make a pretty appetising salad for him and Amber to eat at dinner. They both sat down at the table, chatting in between mouthfuls. Eventually, the conversation turned to Amber and her relationship with Link, and she felt so at ease talking to Corny that she opened up completely to him.

"I like him, he's a really nice guy but, I dunno, he's at that stage where he just wants to… you know…" she trailed off, embarrassed.

"I know what you mean, it's frustrating for you I guess, but he's a seventeen year old guy, I was the same at his age" Corny said.

"Yeah, I guess it's normal but I dunno, I just don't want to… I'm not… it's just weird" Amber stuttered. She could hardly believe she was basically openly discussing her sex life with Corny Collins, but when she looked up at him he was smiling sympathetically.

"I… just want it to be with the right person" she sighed.

"Is Link not the right person? I thought you were really into him?" Corny questioned.

"If we weren't on the show together, we wouldn't be together full stop. My mother just expects it of me, he's the heartthrob of the show I guess, and she wants me to be up there with him."

Amber paused, and took another mouthful of salad. She studied Corny, his perfect jawline, flexing everytime he chewed his food. His hair, no longer in the immaculate smooth hairdo he had on the show, was sexily ruffled, and she suddenly felt a mixture of attraction and new found confidence sweep over her.

"Put it this way, if I had my pick of anyone on the show, it wouldn't be Link I was with"

Corny shot her a questioning look. "Why, who else do you have your eye on? I've always thought Brad seemed an okay guy… or there's Joey…"

Amber took a deep breath, mustered up every last bit of Von Tussle she had in her, and leaned across the small table, pressing her lips against his. She expected him to pull back, but he returned the kiss. A few seconds passed, and he broke away.

"Amber, I'm sorry… I can't…" he stuttered, his head whirring with a thousand different emotions.

Amber stood up rapidly, knocking her chair over in the process. "Oh my god, I'm sorry," she gasped, and turned and ran upstairs.


End file.
